Two major trends to emerge from Asia’s largest pharma event were the increased interest and promotion of “intelligent manufacturing” systems, as well as “green manufacturing” approaches. The former emphasised a rapid shift within China’s industry towards advanced facilities and product classes. However, the latter is a particularly notable change in light of the country’s general reputation, and the first ever “China Pharma Environmental Forum” was an integral feature of this year’s exhibition.

Another major development in 2017 was the introduction of the first edition of the CPhI China Pharma Week, which was a direct response to China’s increased internationalisation. Throughout the entire week, CPhI and P-MEC China attendees had the opportunity to experience richer content than in any other previous edition.

To mention a few: plant visits in leading R&D and innovation companies, the CPhI China River Cruise Networking dinner on Huangpu River that held more than 250 overseas and domestic attendees, the CPhI Pharma Business International Programme to help overseas companies solve problems they encounter when entering the Chinese market and many more.

As part of the CPhI China Pharma week, the show saw the launch of the Bluebook on Internationalisation of China’s Pharmaceutical Industry — listing the largest Chinese companies operating internationally — and “The 2017 Awards for Top 100 Internationalised Pharmaceutical Companies in China.” Both are influential regional lists that review and document the country’s most prominent companies.

Finally, 2017 saw the arrival of another global trend sweeping through pharma with the first ever CPhI Women in Leadership Forum in China, which featured high level debates on how to advance female executive potential contributing to the fast development of pharmaceutical industry in the country.

In total, 55,020 visits were recorded during the 3 day Shanghai event, with 10,126 visits from international attendees, including representatives from more than 120 different countries, covering an enormous 165,000 m2 of exhibition space at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, which makes it the biggest edition of CPhI and P-MEC China to date.

CPhI and P-MEC China will return with its 18 edition again in 2018. The event will be held from 20–22 June 2018 in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, alongside the second edition of CPhI China Pharma Week.